Many methods have been suggested for utilizing biofuel for energy production in order to compensate for at least a portion of the fossil fuel currently used in such energy production, and thereby also decrease net CO2 emissions in the overall energy production cycle.
Unfortunately, biofeedstocks are generally considered to be low energy fuels, and not easily utilized for energy production. The low energy content of biomass renders it generally inadequate for high-efficiency production of energy, such as high-temperature, high-pressure steam or electricity. Additionally, non-uniformity in the raw material (i.e., biomass), differences in its quality, and other similar hard-to-control variations, may cause problems in an energy production cycle that relies heavily on such fuel.
In view of the foregoing, methods and/or systems for integrating biofuel synthesis with traditional refinery processes would be extremely useful—particularly wherein they serve to alleviate issues relating to biofuel raw materials (including their non-uniformity and variable production cycle).